


There Is Quiet

by allonsy_gabriel



Series: History Obliterates (the Hamilton Reincarnation AU No One Wanted) [5]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alexander Has Trouble Sleeping, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hamilsquad, Hurricane Alexander, Hurt/Comfort, John Laurens is a Gift, John is the Mom Friend, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 03:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10913787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allonsy_gabriel/pseuds/allonsy_gabriel
Summary: Jon had been dating Alex for three months now. He knew the man like the back of his hand. So when the perpetual bags under Alex's eyes got darker, when he had Daniel put four more shots of espresso in his coffee than usual, when he snapped at Lafayette for making them two minutes late for class, Jon knew something was up.





	There Is Quiet

**Author's Note:**

> Something slightly less angsty to counteract all the sadness I've been writing lately. This is not polyamary (I spelled that wrong), they're all just very close friends and Pretty Fucking Worried about Alexander.

Jon was worried about Alexander. That, of course, was nothing new. He'd been worried about Alexander since they'd been Washington's aides-de-camp. This, however, was different.

 

Jon had been dating Alex for three months now. He knew the man like the back of his hand. So when the perpetual bags under Alex's eyes got darker, when he had Daniel put four more shots of espresso in his coffee than usual, when he snapped at Lafayette for making them two minutes late for class, Jon knew something was up.

 

“Maybe it's just midterm stress, ya know?” Hercules said one day. It was just him and Jon in Jon’s dorm, playing Mario Kart and eating Taco Bell, and Jon had brought up his worries about Alexander.

 

“Maybe… I still don't like it--son of a bitch! Blue shell, Herc? Really? I thought we were close!” 

 

“Hey man, don't hate the player, hate the game! And hey, when was the last time you knew Alex to actually calm the fuck down  _ ever _ ? It's probably just stress. He'll be fine. He's  _ Alexander _ , for God's sake,” Hercules replied, passing Jon right as they reached the finish line. He grinned.

 

“You're an ass, you know that? But you're probably right. I just worry is all,” Jon said, taking another bite of his burrito. And with that they went again, on claims that Jon was too distracted for the last round to be fair.

OoOoO

Finals were over, and still Alex was going through life like a caffeine powered zombie.

 

“He's probably just stressed about Christmas, mon ami,” Laf said as they sat in their booth at Cool Beans. Alex was up getting his fifth (fifth!!!!) cup of coffee, and Jon had once again voiced his concerns.

 

“I mean, I guess,” Jon said, “But this is a bit much, even for Alex! This morning I was trying to tell him about this job offer I got at the aquarium, and it was like talking to a blow up doll!”

 

“And you would know all about that, yes?” Lafayette asked, and Hercules snorted.

 

“Yeah, Jon has  _ plenty _ of experience with blow up dolls.”

 

“C’mon, guys, this is serious! I think something might be wrong with Alex!” Jon argued.

 

“What's wrong with Alex?” the man in question asked as he slid into the booth next to Jon.

 

“Nothing! It's nothing, babe, don't worry about it,” Jon said quickly. Alex looked like he was about to argue, but then Hercules said something about how someone in his Comp I class had been wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ shirt, and Alexander went off on a rant about the disgusting state of America.

 

Jon had to cleanse his soul for feeling grateful for a Trump supporter.

OoOoO

On the Friday after classes restarted, it was Daniel who finally agreed with Jon that something was up with Alex.

 

“He got to the shop before I did this morning. My shift starts at 4:30,” Daniel said as he wiped off tables.

 

“He didn't come to bed last night until 2 am. Carter texted me two days ago that he found him asleep in the library,” Jon responded.

 

“This is bad, even for him.”

 

“That's what I've been thinking! But I don't want to, like, force him to sleep or anything. That seems kinda across the line.”

 

Daniel was quiet for a moment. “It's Alexander,” he finally responded, “No one can force  him to do anything. I do, however, think we may need to stage an intervention.”

 

Jon nodded. “I'll have Herc and Laf over tonight, we can all talk to him,” he said, and then muttered, “Fuck, Alex, why do you always do this to yourself?”

OoOoO

Jon had explained the situation to Lafayette and Hercules, both of which agreed that this was going too far. That night, they all crowded into Laf’s dorm (it was the biggest) under the pretense of watching a movie. When Alex said he was going to the library, they pounced.

 

“You should stay! It's just getting to the good part! That George girl is about to be hit by a bus. Besides, we all know you're a month ahead of the rest of us in every class,” Laf said.

 

“I really should go. I’ve got an essay I need to finish--”

 

“When was the last time you slept for more than two hours, Alexander?” Daniel asked.

 

Alex looked like he was about to reply when Jon grabbed his arm and said, “And before you pull any bullshit with us, I know that you haven’t for at least the last two nights.”

 

Alexander apparently found the old dorm carpet super interesting right then as he mumbled something under his breath. 

 

“What’d you say?” Jon asked.

 

“Thursday,” Alexander replied, slightly louder this time.

 

“Jon just said you didn’t go to bed last night, man,” Hercules said, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“Not yesterday. The Thursday before that,” Alex said, and everyone immediately winced.

 

“What the fuck, Alexander?” Jon asked, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Are you crazy?”

 

“How have you not collapsed out of exhaustion?” Laf asked, pushing Alex’s hair out of his face and looking over him in concern.

 

“Coffee?” Alex muttered with a shrug.

 

“Do you having a fucking deathwish?” Hercules questioned.

 

“No…”

 

“Okay, that’s it. C’mon, Mr. Sleep-Is-For-The-Weak, time for bed,” Jon said, tugging Alex back to Lafayette’s room, “Laf, can we use yours?”

 

They nodded and Jon thanked them, continuing to pull Alex back to bed.

 

“Guys, wait, I’m  _ fine _ ,” Alexander argued.

 

“Alex, don’t play dumb. It’s not becoming,” Daniel said, “Just go to bed.”

 

Alexander twisted out of Jon’s grasp and backed towards the door. “Guys! Don’t worry, I’m okay, I swear!” he said.

 

“Herc. Plan B,” Jon said, frowning at Alex.

 

“Wait, what? What? What the hell, man?!” Alexander shouted as Hercules snatched him up bridal style.

 

“Sorry, buddy. It’s for your own good,” Herc said, carrying Alex back to Lafayette’s room and plopping him down on the bed. Jon was quickly next to him, arms wrapped around his waist. Laf and Herc were on his other side, and Daniel stood in front of the door like a prison guard.

 

“Isn’t this a bit much?” Alex asked, struggling to not sink into the mattress and let sleep take him.

 

“Nope. We’re doing it because we love you,” Jon said, nuzzling into Alexander’s shoulder.

 

“Oui,” Laf said, curling into Hercules, who was running his fingers through their hair.

Alex huffed and fought sleep as long as he could. He lasted a whole 45 minutes after everyone else had passed out--even Daniel had slouched down into an armchair next to the bed and was snoring lightly--but eventually his exhaustion won out.

 

For a little while.

 

A few hours later, Jon was awoken by the sound of muffled sobs and panicked mutterings.

 

“No, no, Mama, please… you’ve gotta run… the  _ hurricane _ … John, Betsey,  _ please _ ,” Alex was mumbling quietly, his face buried in Laf’s pillows.

 

Jon sucked in a breath.  _ Shit _ .

 

“Alexander? Alex, sweetheart, please wake up. It’s okay. You’re safe, I’m safe, please wake up,” he whispered, shaking Alex lightly. The man shot up like he’d been shocked.

 

“Jon!” he shouted, causing Lafayette and Daniel to jerk awake. Hercules could sleep through a nuclear explosion.

 

“I’m here, baby, I’m here. It’s okay, it’s okay,” Jon said quickly, wrapping his arms around Alex and pressing kisses to his temple.

 

“Is he alright?” Laf asked quietly, gently placing a hand on Alexander’s shoulder.

 

“I think we’ve figured out why Alex here doesn’t want to sleep,” Daniel said groggily, rubbing his eyes.

 

Meanwhile, Jon was counting to Alex, alternating between English and Spanish, and wiping the tears from the man’s face. “It was just a nightmare, okay? It’s not real, honey,” he’d mutter, and then, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Uno, dos, tres…”

 

“Merde,” Laf said, and Daniel nodded in agreement.

 

“The hurricane,” Alexander whispered, clutching Jon’s hand so tight it was turning purple.

 

“It’s over. You’re in New York, it’s 2017, you’re  _ safe _ ,” Jon said back, kissing Alex’s hand, “You hear me?  _ Safe _ .”

 

“I’ll go make some coffee. I feel like that’s all the sleep we’re getting tonight,” Daniel said.

 

“I’m sorry,” Alex muttered.

 

“Hey, no. He didn’t mean it like that, babe. He meant that we’re not just going back to sleep when you’re obviously hurting, right Daniel?” Jon said, shooting the man in question a look that said, ‘You know the correct answer here, and you’d better give it.’

 

“Of course,” Daniel responded before ducking out to go brew a pot.

 

“Alex, mon ami, is this why you haven’t been sleeping?” Laf asked, their accent thicker in their tired state.

 

Alexander nodded. Jon sighed and kissed Alex’s hair. “Okay. Well, now that we know, we can help. Sound good?”

 

Alex wiped his nose on his sleeve and mumbled, “I don’t wanna be a bother.”

 

“You’re not a bother, sweetheart,” Jon reassured, “We just want to help. Do you want to talk about it?”

 

Alex shook his head.

 

“Okay then. When Daniel comes back we’ll turn on Parks and Rec or something. It’s fine, baby. I swear,” Jon said.

OoOoO

From then on out, Jon made sure Alex at least  _ attempted _ to sleep every night, and he was always there. Carter joked that Jon was at their dorm more often than he was.

 

And when Alexander woke up from a nightmare, Jon was there. Eventually, Alex started talking about the dreams. He opened up a little more each night, and Jon couldn’t be more proud.

 

Daniel, Herc, and Laf all helped too, always asking how he slept and what they could do to help. If Alex woke after four, Daniel would open Cool Beans up early, ready with Alexander’s Double Extra Large Black coffee (he never added any espresso).  If Alex just  _ couldn’t  _ get to sleep, Laf would show up at his door with a bag of Red Vines and an episode of Project Runway. Hercules would often take get his friends who shared classes with Alex to get notes for him when he slept late and no one wanted to wake him.

 

Even Parker helped where he could, texting Alexander at eleven every night and telling him to, ‘Go the fuck to bed, Hamilton. Lord knows you need your beauty sleep.’

 

Slowly, Alex made progress. A month into this endeavor he slept a solid eight hours one night. The next week he got that much sleep two nights in a row. The bags under his eyes had gone from a indigo to a light lavender that was pretty common amongst college students. He was less irritable, he ate more, his anxiety wasn't completely controlling his life. Everything was looking up.

 

There were, of course, occasional setbacks. Spring break brought one of the worst nightmares yet, and Alex didn't sleep for three days afterwards.

 

Despite all this, he was getting better. Jon watched as the love of his lives grew happier and healthier than he could ever remember.

  
Life was good, if only for just a moment.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
